Life is full of ups and downs and we can never avoid the downs no matter how hard we try. When things get a little frustrating and you’re acting out or not being yourself, look out for these 8 signs that are probably trying to tell you that you need a break or help.
By Mariam Elhamy
1. Easily Irritated
You’re frustrated and angered by the smallest inconvenience. You lose your temper very often and take it out on those around you. You feel impatient most of the time.
Try to communicate your frustration and find solutions instead of getting angry. The more you feel irritated find a relaxing spot and try to meditate or forget about everything for a few minutes and only focus on yourself.
2. Completely Unmotivated
It’s becoming especially difficult for you to focus or get anything done. Your goals and inspirations don’t seem as important to you as before. You don’t get excited about things you like the way you used to and you don’t really care much at all.
Make a list of all the small and big things that you usually like to do. One by one start doing those things and checking them off the list, even if you don’t feel like it. Doing those things will help you remember why you love them in the first place. Or, another approach you could try is by exploring other new things you’ve never tried.
3. Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Anxiety became your middle name. You find yourself panicking about the smallest things and you feel immediately stressed. You’re worried about what’s coming and you feel that you lost control over your life and everything around you.
Whenever you feel anxious remember that the thing you’re stressed about now will probably mean nothing in a few days or months. Always remember that when you stress about something you’re basically putting yourself through it twice, and it’s usually not even that bad.
4. Trouble Sleeping
You can’t sleep properly and your sleep is disturbed no matter what you do to try to put yourself in a calming state. You never feel well-rested because you wake up multiple times in the middle of the night and you start thinking, overthinking and stressing about the past or the future.
Forget about the tips and tricks of getting quality sleep and all that, the goal here is to not overthink when you’re trying to sleep. Busy yourself with a calming activity whether it be painting, exercising or watching your favorite sitcom.
5. Indigestion
You experience physical pain because of all the stress you’re under so you constantly have headaches, feel nauseous and get chest or stomach pains. When you’re feeling mentally exhausted your body immediately reacts the same way, lowering your immunity system and affecting other areas in the body.
Relax! Find the thing that relaxes you the most and take small breaks during the day to do it. If you feel like you’re about to breakdown call someone you can trust and ask them for advice. They’ll know what to do.
6. Crying Unexpectedly
You find yourself crying randomly when you’re driving, in the shower or at work. You can’t pinpoint a specific reason that made you cry, you just can’t help but feel the way you do.
Accept the tears and let them flow, you’ll feel calmer afterward.
Listen to Crybaby by Paloma Faith
7. Detached from Reality
You can’t plan or think straight about anything. You feel more and more detached from your friends and family and you’re never in the mood to socialize because all it seems to do is drain your energy. You don’t feel like yourself but more on autopilot.
Talk to someone close to you about how you feel and ask for their help. If you don’t want to do that then make your alone time enjoyable and don’t force yourself to go out when you clearly don’t want to because it will only put you in a worse mood.
8. Feeling Empty
You can’t remember the last time you were happy or excited about something because you feel numb and you feel like you’re making a huge effort with everything you do.
You’re feeling empty because you’ve lost interest in your relationship, career or hobbies. Look for the reason that’s making you this exhausted and work it out with your partner, friend or find a better job that makes you less stressed and more satisfied.
Your mental and emotional health is very important and if you keep ignoring them it will affect your physical health negatively which in turn will affect your mental state and the cycle repeats itself. If you don’t know how to fix it yourself don’t hesitate to ask for help from an expert, there’s no shame in admitting something is wrong and wanting to work on it.
